A Date Night to Remember (Or: City Fishing)
by Tumbleweed
Summary: What starts as a simple 'thank you for saving the world' kind of dinner soon spirals out of control as Korra drags Asami along on a mad adventure to find truly authentic Southern Water Tribe cuisine. Marvel as our heroines find themselves thrown into barroom brawls, pitted against marauding mecha, and confronted with cocktails of dubious origin! Also there is shipping.
1. Chapter 1

"How much does this stuff cost?" Korra pored over her menu as if it were an ancient scroll, or a battle map. "It doesn't list prices anywhere."

"If you have to ask," I said, peering over the edge of my own menu, "you probably can't afford it."

Korra's expression faltered, "Oh. Think they give an Avatar discount?"

"They won't have to. Dinner's on me."

"You don't have to do this, Asami."

"Actually, I kind of do." I smiled, ruefully. "Kaga's is the most exclusive resturant in Republic City. You wouldn't believe the amount of trouble I went through to get these reservations. Heck, I'm just glad that it wasn't damaged when Unalaq attacked the city." The savory scents of cooking food wafted through the little restaurant, accompanied by the soft sounds of the house band.

"I dunno." Korra's braids swayed gently as she looked the resturant over. Again. I wondered if she knew she was sizing the place up, or if she did it by some warrior instinct. Korra had picked a booth with her back to the wall, and she kept herself from relaxing entirely, in case she had to suddenly spring into action (or at least run away from the bill). "This whole place...just seems a little too fancy for me. Should I have worn a dress? I should've worn a dress."

"You're the Avatar." I set my menu flat on the table, and leaned forward. "You can wear whatever you want. And you can _order_ whatever you want."

"Okay, if you insist." Korra went back to studying her menu. "But you don't get to complain if I turn out to be a pricey date."

Date.

She said date.

Oh spirits, were we actually on a date? By the technical definition, I realized, we might have been. I mean, I'd made the reservations, picked her up in my car, and...well, that was all there was. Really. It would've been just the same as if it were a business dinner with an important client or supplier I wanted to impress.

Wait. Did I want to impress Korra?

It was about then I realized I should be talking to ward off the inevitable uncomfortable silence.

Thankfully, Korra spoke up before I had to."Whoa!" Her face lit up with puppylike enthusiasm. "They've got Bigfish!"

"Big...fish? Like...a whale or a shark or something?"

"Not a big _fish_." Korra explained. "Bigfish. It's its own thing."

"I don't follow."

"Here!" Korra turned her menu around and pointed to an entry at the bottom of the page. "It's a Southern Water Tribe specialty. They only come to the surface once a year, and they're really, really hard to catch. It's kind of a rite of passage to bring one back to your village." Korra smirked at me, smug. "I got my first Bigfish when I was twelve. I was the youngest person to get one since Warchief Sokka, they say."

"Sounds...impressive?" I ventured.

"It's _super_ impressive. Trust me. You paddle out in a kayak, and throw out some chum- only you have to throw out juuuuust the right amount, because if you put out to little, you don't get any fish, and if you put out too much, you'll just attract a bunch of seal-sharks, which will scare off the bigfish. But then, if you're patient, all you need to do is wait for just the right moment, and then BAM, you stick them with harpoon! Right between the eyes."

"Oh. Okay?"

"Once you catch one, you drag it back to your village, and everyone carves off a steak, and you roll them up in seaweed and roast them as soon as you can." She closed her eyes, fairly shivering at the memory. "So. Juicy."

"Wait." A thought struck me. "I thought you were a vegetarian?"

"You did? Why?"

"You know, the whole Avatar thing?"

"Aang was vegetarian. Tenzin's vegetarian. It's an Air Nomad thing. I'm from the Water Tribe- our diet's like seventy percent seafood and seal meat."

"So...eating meat doesn't interfere with the whole 'at one with the universe,' thing?"

"Nah, not really. The way I see it, I'm _helping_ the cycle of nature. Fish eat each other. The the Bigfish eats those, and then I get to eat the BigFish. Everything has a place in nature. It's just that the Bigfish is delicious so its place is in my mouth."

"That's...surprisingly well thought out. You've had this discussion with Tenzin, haven't you?"

"Not about Bigfish specifically, but meat in general, yeah. Usually whenever Bumi visits."

"Makes sense."

"But you've _got_ to try Bigfish, Asami." Korra leaned across the table and took my hands in hers, her strong fingers capturing mine in her "It'll be the greatest thing you ever eat. I promise."

"Okay, okay," I couldn't help but smile at Korra's eagerness. "We'll get the Bigfish. But you've got to try the cabbage rolls."

"Deal."

I waved the waiter over, and placed our order.

The service at Kaga's was excellent, as usual. The cabbage rolls I'd ordered as an appetizer came before long. Korra and I made short work of them. The pickly taste of the cabbage was balanced by the sweet plum wine the waiter had brought us- "Compliments of the house, Miss Sato." he said.

All and all, things were going well until the entrees arrived.

Korra attacked her plate no sooner had it been laid on the table. It's one thing to see the Avatar fight- it's another entirely to watch her _eat. _After she'd shoveled the first few morsels into her mouth, Korra frowned, chewing thoughtfully.

"Something wrong?" I said.

To Korra's credit, she waited until she was done chewing to talk. "It's...different."

"Well, they're not going to prepare it like your family does-"

"I know, it's just not what I was expecting, I guess. I mean, it's _good_, but..." Korra trailed off, and gave a pained sigh. "Have you ever gotten suddenly, inexplicably homesick?"

"I've never left Republic City for more than a week." I said, and turned my eyes down to start picking at my own slab of bigfish. Tantalizing smells wafted up as the pink meat flaked off of the bone. "But...I'll try to understand?"

"Maybe I just need to drag you off on some crazy adventure off in the Earth Kingdom or something so you'll have enough time to miss home."

"You know, I think I'd like that." I smiled.

"What's this? What's this?" Chef Kaga sailed out of the kitchen, his embroidered apron flapping around him like a cloak. "The Avatar? And Miss Sato? In _my_ humble restaurant? What a pleasant surprise!"

A lie, of course, given the trouble I'd made to get the reservations in the first place, not to mention the inevitable murmurs of the waitstaff upon our arrival.

"You ordered the bigfish fillets, yes? I compliment you on your most discerning of tastes! I can only offer it on special, rare occasions- what fortuitous portents that we were able to stock it today, when our most honored guests were able to grace Chef Kaga's with their eminence! Please, tell me, Avatar Korra, what do you think of my humble cooking?" Kaga waggled his eyebrows, and waved over a waiter with a camera who had materialized from somewhere.

"It's...okay?" Korra said as diplomatically as she could manage.

Kaga's face fell. "Okay? Merely...okay? Surely, I have wronged you somehow, that you would wound me in this manner!"

"No, no, it's fine! It's just...not...not what I expected, that's all. I'm just used to having this a little...fresher, that's all." Korra held up her hands, placatingly.

"Fresher? Fresher?" Kaga's face turned as red as the wallpaper. "How _dare_ you? I only stock the freshest ingredients- why, that very fish on your plate was caught less than two weeks ago!"

"Two weeks?" Korra said, insulted. "No wonder it tastes funny. Everyone knows bigfish is best served when it's still bleeding."

Kaga shrieked, and one of the waiters in the background dropped his platter with a crash of shattered porcelain. "If you wanted to murder me, Avatar, I wish you would but do it quickly!" he fell back into the arms of two waiters, who had positioned themselves in just the right spot in case of this eventuality. "It's simply impossible, _impossible_ to get bigfish any quicker than that! Transport alone takes days- not to mention how long it takes for everything to process through customs. Why, you'd need to be some sort of criminal fish-smuggler to get bigfish any fresher than two weeks old! What do you take me for, Avatar?"

"Wait." Korra said. "Did you just say criminal fish smuggler? Is that a thing?"

I didn't like the look in Korra's eye.

Really, I didn't like the look in anyone's eyes at that point. Especially since all those eyes were pointed at us.

"How should I know? Do I _look_ like a criminal?" Kaga shrilled as he levered himself back up to his feet. "I'll not allow such licentious slander to be thrown about within the walls of my very own resturant! Out, out, out, with the both of you!"

Korra stood.

Everyone stepped back.

I took solace in the fact that everyone was at least looking at Korra, instead of me.

"C'mon Asami." Korra said, glaring pointedly at Chef Kaga. "I just got an idea!"

"Uh. Sure." I said, mostly glad for an excuse to get out of the resturant before someone started throwing punches or flame bolts. I fished a few bills from my purse, more than enough to cover the tab, and left them on the table.

Guests and waitstaff alike stepped out of Korra's way as she stormed out of the resturant- I was left to simply follow in her wake like a mouse-duckling.

"Oh, one last thing-" Korra looked over her shoulder once we reached the door. "Can we get a to-go bag?"


	2. Chapter 2

"Stop here." Korra pointed with her free hand, using the other to hold the paper-wrapped remains of her bigfish fillet, which she munched on as if it were a street bun.

I obliged, pulling up on a dark, litter-strewn, and quiet street. The streetlights had been long since broken, and what few lights shining from open windows only served to make the shadows deeper. "Korra, are you sure this is a good idea?" I said for not the first time that night.

"Not really, no. Which is why it's great!" Korra finished off her fillet, then wadded up the bag and tossed it in the backseat. "All we're going to do is go in and ask some questions."

"About fish smugglers."

"Bigfish smugglers."

"If those even exist."

"We're about to find out now, aren't we?" Korra grinned at me, then vaulted over the door of my convertible and onto the street. I turned off the engine and followed, making sure to pocket my keys. No sense in tempting fate, after all. Even though Korra and I were alone, it felt like the buildings themselves would lift your wallet if you weren't careful. The place _smelled_ like trouble. At least, that's what I hoped I was smelling.

"C'mon. Mako told me about this place once." Korra led me down an even deeper, darker alley. "If you want to find something, you go to the Ditch. He also told me never to go to the Ditch alone...so good thing you're here, right?"

"Yeah. Perfect." I carefully stepped around a puddle of unknowable provenance.

"Just follow my lead, alright?" Korra walked up to an unmarked door, tucked away out of sight of the main street. She knocked ('pounded' might be the better term) on the boards, until a slot slid open at about eye-level.

"Password?" hissed a pair of beady eyes.

"I'm the freaking Avatar and I'll rip this door off its hinges if you don't open up." Korra cracked her knuckles as punctuation.

The slot slid shut.

We waited.

"Don't say I didn't warn him." Korra rolled her neck and began to bounce on the balls of her feet. For a moment, I wondered just _how_ Korra was going to start breaking things. A stone battering ram? A focused cyclone? Some sort of conflagration to burn the door from its hinges?

I just hoped she didn't try to bend whatever was in the puddles.

"Wait-" I said, and held up a hand. "They're probably not going to answer too many questions if you start breaking heads right away. Let me try something." I gently pushed Korra out of the way, and knocked on the heavy oak door.

The slot opened up, though a little slower this time.

"Scram, doll. That's your last warning," said the beady eyes.

I offered my best smile, and reached into my jacket. "Sorry about my friend. What she _meant_ to say is...Mr. Yuan sent us." I held a bill up for the doorman to see.

"Gonna have to do better than that, toots."

I forced myself to hold my smile, and fanned out the trio of crisp banknotes. "Did I mention Mr. Yuan's friends?"

That got those eyes to widen, at least.

Locks and deadbolts rattled, and then the door opened obligingly. The beady eyes were revealed to belong to a hunched over, whippet-thin man in a shabby suit. He plucked the yuan notes from my hand, and bowed deeper than the doorman at Kaga's. I looked the joint over.

The Ditch was aptly named.

A large earthen trench took up most of the floor, with a haphazard collection of planks laid across it for the clientele to walk on. Spilled drinks, food wrappers, and the occasional drunk all wound up at the bottom eventually. Every so often, a grizzled waterbender sluiced the foul stew out through a hole at the end of the ditch. The token nod to hygiene made The Ditch classy by dive standards, I guessed.

A trio of shabbily dressed (yet surprisingly talented) musicians sat on wooden crates at one corner of the room, plucking out a rowdy rendition of 'The Secret Tunnel Rag,'- only to trail of as they saw us walk in.

The motley crowd of thugs, cutthroats, and ne'er do wells all stared at us as we walked in. Korra glared back, and spat a candle's worth of flame onto the earthen floor.

Placated or intimidated by the gesture, the thugs, cutthroats, and ne'er do wells returned to their thuggery, throat-cuts, and ne'er do welling. The band started to play again, and things returned to what I assumed was 'normal.'

"Stay close." Korra ordered without looking back at me. I stuck. I could handle myself, but there's still something to be said for having the Avatar on your side when things get nasty. Somehow, I knew they would.

"What'll it be, ladies?"

"Rat-cobra wine." Korra said, and pounded the bar hard enough to leave a dent. "Two glasses."

The grizzled-looking bartender sized us up specutively, but an extra glare from Korra got him moving again. "It's in the back." he said, and sulked off.

I clutched Korra's arm and leaned close enough to hiss into her ear. "Rat-cobra wine?"

"Relax." Korra turned to me, beaming. "It's just for show. Mostly for show. You can't show weakness in a place like this."

The bartender plunked a pair of dirty glasses onto the bar, along with a large, unmarked bottle of some yellowish liquid- complete with a pickled rat-cobra floating in it.

"Weak isn't the term that comes to mind. More like 'insane.'" I stared into the milky white eyes of the withered reptile-rodent.

"Leave the bottle." Korra said, "Just put it on our tab."

The bartender stroked his stubbly chin, shrugged, and found something better to do at the other end of the bar.

Korra poured two glasses of the ominous liquor and pushed a tumbler into my hands. I sniffed it experimentally and immediately recoiled. The stuff smelled like engine cleaner. _Used_ engine cleaner. I soon corrected myself, realizing I'd never use engine cleaner that had a rat-cobra in it to begin with.

"Bottom's up!" Korra clinked her glass against mine, and downed her drink in a single gulp. I saw the subtle tensing of Korra's muscles, as if her whole body gradually realized just what she'd done to it. It reached her face last, and her lips turned up in a teeth-gritted, rigor-mortis 'smile'.

"Smooth." Korra lied.

"I'll...take your word for it." I discreetly poured my glass of rat-cobra wine onto the dirt floor. At least there was something to be said for the Ditch's titular feature.

Stubborn as ever, Korra poured herself another glass. I put my hand on the back of hers and shook my head before she could get any farther. "For the record, I'm already impressed." I said.

"Thanks." Korra rasped.

"So..." I drummed my fingers on the bar, "Now what?"

"Now, we just have to keep on the lookout for somebody who knows something."

"I know something." On cue, a shifty looking guy sidled up towards Korra and I at the bar. He had his hair (what was left of it, at least) slicked straight back with grease the same color as his black silk shirt, which he left mostly unbuttoned. "For example, I know I haven't seen two girls as gorgeous as you two in a _long_ time." He was shorter than Korra, but didn't seem phased by it.

"How surprising." I said.

"So, what're you two lovely ladies looking for? My name's Song, by the by. You need to know something? I know something. I know _everything_. I know you what you need to know before you even know you need to know it. Y'know?"

"Uh. Sure." Korra said.

"Now _normally, _my particular set of skills command a fairly high premium, but for you two, I'm sure we can work out some kind of...reciprocal exchange." Song leaned in close enough so I could smell his cheap cologne.

"Yeah?" Korra said.

"Oh. Yeah." Song said.

Korra stepped closer to Song. I presumed the rat-cobra wine had temporarily burnt out her sense of smell. "We're looking for Bigfish," she murmured into her ear.

Song's greasy smile fell, and he immediately started backing away from us. "Whoawhoawhoa, _that's_ something I don't know about! Sorry ladies! Can't help you. I'll just be going- hurk!"

Korra caught the back of the informant's collar before he could escape. She hoisted the little guy up off the floor and spun him around. "Listen, chump, you're going to tell us everything you know about Bigfish, and you're gonna _like_ it!"

"I don't know anything about any Bigfish! I swear!"

"Bet you know somebody who does, smart guy." Korra shook the little guy. "So sing, Song!"

"They do! They know about the Bigfish!" Song pointed- and, sure enough, an even half-dozen of the Ditch's more intimidating looking clientele (which is saying something) had taken interest in our conversation. Everyone else scrambled over each other to find the safest places to watch the inevitable mayhem.

Song flailed, and the back of his collar gave way, tearing off in Korra's hand. He scrambled away with desperate speed, disappearing behind the wall of goons that had surrounded us.

"Huh." Korra said, looking at the tag left in her hand. "Not even real silk."

"Somebody could get hurt askin' questions 'like that 'round here." A bulky, hairless man rumbled. He flexed his fingers, and a fireball flickered to life in his palm. Following his cue, the other toughs behind him fell into their own bending stances, readying their own fighting stones or serpentine coils of grey water.

"And somebody _else_ could get hurt if I don't get those questions answered." Korra snapped back. "You _do_ know who you're dealing with, don't you? I bet your buddy Song could answer that one for free."

"It's the Avatar!" Song shrieked from where he cowered behind an upturned table.

"Boss won't be happy to hear that." The big earthbender said. "Guess we just gotta teach the Avatar a lesson!" He lashed out with his fireball.

"I was hoping you'd do that." Korra wrenched a stone from the dirt floor and used it to block the incoming flames before sending the square chunk of rock right into the big firebender's forehead.

He collapsed to one knee, and pointed blindly at Korra. "GET HER!"

And that's when things got nasty.

Korra brought her foot around, staggering the thugs with a wide sweep of wind. She switched to firebending for her second kick, burning through the dry planks beneath a waterbender's feet, sending him plummeting down to the filthy ditch below.

I lost track of her soon after that, catching only glimpses as Korra weaved her way between the other benders, dodging and fighting like she'd been born to it. It was beautiful, the way she moved- every punch or kick timed to do the most damage. I almost leapt into the brawl beside her, but tight as things were, I feared I'd only get in the way.

"Hey there, doll!" The big bald firebender closed his fingers around my wrist. I swore at myself beneath my breath- I'd been so distracted by watching Korra 'work,' he'd managed to sneak up on me.

"Bet the Avatar won't be so smug once she sees I've got her girl- OW!" While he gloated, I twisted my arm out of his grip and snapped a kick into his right knee. He retreated a step, and then fell into a lopsided stance, favoring his hurt leg.

"I didn't want to do this, but now I'm gonna cook you good, dollface." He clenched his fists and hand-length jets of flame hissed to life materialized in his hands.

I backpedaled, wishing I hadn't left my shock-glove in the car. Why didn't I think to bring it? Especially in a place like this. Still, there wasn't anything to be done about it now- I'd have to improvise.

And that's when I saw the bottle.

Inspiration struck before the firebender could, and I grabbed the rat-cobra wine off of the bar just as the firebender came in swinging. I ducked beneath his attack, sprang past him in a shoulder-roll, and started chugging the rat-cobra wine as soon as I was back on my feet. My eyes began to water as soon as the caustic liquor hit my tongue. Not for the first time that evening, I began to re-think some of my life choices that had brought me to this point.

When the firebender spun back towards me, I spat the booze into his face. He instinctively whipped his hands up to protect it himself- and the high-proof liquor ignited on his flame-knives. The firebender shrieked in dismay, more surprised than burnt, and fell back slapping at his smoldering clothes.

I flipped the bottle around in my hand and shattered it over the firebender's head, and he finally fell senseless to the floor.

"Niiiiiice." Korra said from behind me.

I turned, and there she was, a little sweaty, a little scuffed up, and surrounded by a half-dozen downed benders.

"Uh. Thanks?" I said, and wiped some of the liquor off of my lips. "But, uh, in the time it took me to take that guy down, you just beat up like, five other dudes."

"Six." Korra said, smug. "The doorman threw a chair at me when my back was turned. But still! You should be proud! That thing you did with the bottle was totally cool! You only knocked the one guy out, but you did it with _style. _He was the biggest one anyway, so that counts for more, right?" She bounced on her heels again, brimming with victorious excitement. "Now c'mon, we should get going before the cops show up. I'm in too good a mood to listen to one of Lin's lectures tonight."

"Does that mean we're wrapping it up for the night?" I said, hopeful. Not that I didn't enjoy spending time with Korra, it's just I would've rather spent time with her somewhere a little more pleasant. Or, well, a lot more pleasant. And that was before you got to the residual taste of rat-cobra wine still hanging around my mouth like an unwelcome houseguest.

"Nope. Check this out!" Korra held up a key with a little metal tag dangling down at the end. "I found this one one of the dudes I just roughed up. Look at the tag."

She tossed the key to me, and I plucked it out of the air by reflex. I held the tag up to the faint light and read the engraving aloud. "Pier 58? Is that-"

"-where they've got the Bigfish stored!" Korra finished my sentence for me. "We've got to be on the right track- they wouldn't have tried to rough us up if we weren't rattling _somebody_. I'm telling you, Asami, we're on to something here."

"But what?"

"Only one way to find out!"


	3. Chapter 3

Every time I asked Korra if this was really a good idea, she'd just smile at me.

I stopped asking after awhile.

Not that such a sunny, heart-melting smile was a _bad_ thing. Korra could light up a room even without the firebending. I was left torn between the warmth of Korra's unflagging optimism, and the nagging doubt at the back of my own head.

"Here's the plan," Korra gripped the top of my car's windshield and stood up, eager to spring into action. "Somebody's probably tipped these jerks off, so we're going to have to do this one slow."

"Slow is good." I said as we cruised into the port district.

"We're going to have to leave the car- somebody could see the headlights, or hear the engine."

"Got it." I said, and pulled into a side alley. I killed the engine and patted the dashboard- with any luck, the car would still be there when we got back. I was still surprised it'd been there after we left the Ditch. I opened up the center compartment and pulled out the shock-glove I kept in there. The heavy gauntlet felt reassuring, even if the knowledge I might have to use it wasn't. "Anything else I should know?"

"Nah, not really. You've done pretty good keeping up so far- just like I thought you would."

"Thanks?"

"Now c'mon, we've got a Bigfish to catch."

And so, we skulked through the alleys of Republic City, sticking to the shadows. It took us about half an hour to reach Pier 58. A massive warehouse rose out from the waterline, supported on thick stone posts. To judge by the cranes and the loading equipment, it looked like some kind of drydock, where ships could be lifted out of the water and worked on. I guessed that made sense for a smuggling operation. Bring a ship in, get it refitted, and then use that as a cover to smuggle out whatever illicit goods you had stashed in the hold.

I wondered if I'd been hanging around Varrick too long.

A tall chain-link fence surrounded Pier 58, which might have been an obstacle to someone who didn't know how to airbend. As such, Korra just grabbed me around the waist (unexpectedly, though not unpleasantly) and tornado-jumped the twelve feet or so in a single bound.

"Warn a girl, next time?" I felt my heart pound in my chest, for any number of reasons.

"Sssh." Korra held a finger to my lips. "No talking 'til fish."

I shut up and followed Korra. Not as if there was any sense turning back. Ducking low, we crossed the open ground between the fence and the warehouse, and flattened ourselves against the outer wall. There weren't any sirens, spotlights, or calls of alarm, so I could only assume nobody saw us.

We stuck to the wall and crept our way to the door. The key Korra had grabbed earlier opened the deadbolt, and we were in.

The scrape of unoiled metal hinges echoed across the cavernous room as Korra pushed the door open. I winced, the sound of shoddy maintenance stinging my eardrums. When no wave of hidden ambushers attacked, Korra waved me on. "C'mon. I think it's clear."

She snapped her fingers, summoning a dancing ribbon of flame to light our way. The far end of the warehouse opened out onto the ocean directly, complete with the requisite posts and cleats for mooring boats. The enormous warehouse was mostly empty, save for a pair of truck-sized, tarp-covered...somethings in the middle of the room.

"We're close, I can feel it." Korra made a beeline to the closer of the two tarps. "They've probably got a whole fridge full of Bigfish here- or maybe even a tank full of live ones." She yanked the tarp away.

"That's...not what you meant by tank, was it?" I said.

The concept, I realized, was a solid one. A long, rounded hull could both shrug off enemy attacks and add to buoyancy. The pistons around the wheels would allow them to get pulled back into the hull- I bet there were panels in the back for propellers to emerge in turn.

The clawed arms sticking out from the sides were a little much- a turret would've been the better way to install weaponry, but there was something to be said for using existing mecha-suit parts.

"What is it?" Korra said, staring perplexedly.

"It's a prototype." I ran my fingers over the riveting. "A pretty rough one, too, to judge by the way this was put together. It's some kind of amphibious assault vehicle...you sail it to wherever you want to go, and then drive it up onto the beach to fight. Someone must have stolen it during all the recent chaos. And when we started asking questions...that's what spooked those goons back at the bar."

"But that doesn't make any sense!" Korra said.

"Here-" I set my non-gloved hand on Korra's shoulder and pulled her back a few steps, so she could get a better view of the submersible as a whole. "Between the fins and the silver plating, wouldn't you say it looks like-"

"It's a fish." Korra gasped when the realization hit her. "A big fish."

"Sorry." I said. "But...at least we can make sure that these things don't get into the wrong hands. And that's good, right?"

"I guess so." Korra said, disappointed.

"If it makes you feel better, you can help me disable these so they can't be used to hurt anyone."

"Disable?"

"That's a fancy way of saying 'break.'"

"You really know how to cheer a girl up, don't you?" Korra smiled that canine grin of hers, and the flame in her hand began to burn brighter.

"The only thing that's gonna get broke, is _you_, Avatar!" Someone yelled at us from the catwalks above.

"Bring it! I'm not afraid of you..." Korra squinted towards the figure in the darkness. "Whoever you are!"

"The name's Rocket Roshi. You're about to see why." The figure up on the catwalk vaulted over the railing and plummeted towards the concrete floor. At the last moment, he threw his arms out to the side, igniting a steady stream of flame from each fist. The thin columns of flame slowed his descent. By some standards, Rocket Roshi was a pretty intimidating figure. He was tall, gangly, and the dark suit he wore contrasted nicely with the flames shooting out of his fists. Even his dark, spiky hair had the vague look of flame about it.

I'd seen worse.

"Nice trick." Korra wiped something off the tip of her nose with her thumb. "I'm sure your goons told you how bad I kicked their butts, so I'm gonna be nice and give you the chance to give yourself up now."

"I've worked too long on this score to let you screw it up, Avatar. So I'm giving _you_ the chance to just walk away."

"You think we're really just going to let you go?" Korra brought her hands up and started circling to the left. I followed suit, and shifted to the right.

"You think I'm really gonna give up?" said Rocket Roshi.

"Can't say that I didn't warn you!" Korra feinted with a fire-punch, and then stomped the ground, sending a rolling ripple through the concrete floor. Roshi staggered off balance, right into the tight vortex of compressed air Korra threw with her left. Roshi's flames sputtered, and he hit the floor with a heavy thud.

"C'mon. I'm the Avatar, you're just some two-bit thug. We both know how this is gonna end, Rocky."

"Rocket!"

"Whatever. You're just some two bit punk."

"Oh yeah?" Rocket Roshi laughed, sounding just a little too unhinged for someone with the ability to create fire out of thin air. "I'll show you! I'm some two bit punk...with my own mecha suit!" Roshi blasted himself into the air with another rocket-jump. He sailed over Korra's head- and onto the top of the submersible we'd uncovered. He popped the hatch and scrambled inside- moments later, the mecha's engine rumbled to life like the growl of a giant platypus-bear.

The mech swerved towards Korra. She ducked under the first clumsy swing of its claw, and then the second, dancing between the blows with practiced ease. "And here I thought this was gonna be boring!"

Korra bombarded the mech with a flurry of fire and air, barely scorching the fortified hull. She switched to earthbending without breaking stride and smashed several rocks into the mecha, only barely slowing it down.

"Who's laughing now, Avatar!" Roshi said over the mechsuit's megaphone. "This baby's built to last- with the hatches sealed, I'm invincible!" He smashed a claw into the floor where Korra had been standing moments earlier.

He was right, I realized. Depending on how deep the submarine-suit was designed to go, and depending on how well they reinforced the hull, it'd be able to take a heck of a beating. Not that Korra couldn't crack it eventually, but without any exhaust pipes, there wouldn't be a good way to get at the engine.

And that's when inspiration struck.

"Korra!" I called out. "Hit it with water!"

"What good's that gonna do? It's a _boat_."

"Just make it a steady stream, I've got an idea!"

"If you say so!" Korra flipped out of the way of a crushing claw, and landed in a waterbending stance. She swept her arms in a wide arc and drew a thick, serpentine length of water out from the dock. She pushed both hands forward, and pinned the sub into place with the blast of water.

Crackling arcs of electricity buzzed around my shock-glove as I turned it on. I thrust my hand into the stream of water, and the blue bolts of energy sizzled and flashed through the surging water, and onto the mecha suit.

The electricity spread out over the mecha suit like a spiderweb, burning the air around it. It only lasted a second before the battery in my glove overloaded, but that's all I needed.

Overloaded by the sudden, unexpected blast of electricity, Roshi's mecha suit went haywire as its electrics went off at once. It flailed its claws, flashed its headlights, and then kicked itself into reverse for some reason, careening out of control.

Just like I planned.

What I _didn't_ plan on was Rocket Roshi smashing through the far wall- and the fuel tanks stored there. Korra dropped her water spout a wall of stone; the only thing that kept the both of us from getting flash-fried in the ensuing explosion. Even through the earthbent barrier, I felt the concussive force of the explosion down to my bones.

"Quick, into the water!" Korra said, "We've gotta get out of here!"

"Hold on, I've got a better idea!" I said, and sprinted for the remaining submarine-mecha. I pulled myself up to the top hatch, noting the suit's condition- the explosion hadn't damaged it too much.

"What're you doing?" Korra yelled, hot on my heels.

"It'll be safer and faster if we take the suit-" I dropped into the control chair and started flipping switches. At a glance, the control scheme looked close enough to a Future Industries mech-suit, and as for the rest, I'd have to figure out as I went along.

"Uh. Asami?" Korra's braids dangled upside-down as she stuck her head in through the hatch. "There's only one chair."

Another fuel tank went up, and the whole warehouse shuddered.

"Then it'll be cozy!" I reached up and hauled Korra down into the suddenly-cramped submersible. "Shut the hatch!" I said, and reached arround Korra to grab the control levers. The engine growled as soon as I hit the throttle and sent the submarine-suit rolling forward. We splashed into the water just as the last of the fuel tanks blew up, sending flaming shrapnel raining down all around us. Bits of metal and rubble pinged off of the hull of the sub- I hated to think what would've happened if any one of those had struck me or Korra while we were in the water.

That's when I realized I had the Avatar sitting in my lap.

It was...distracting, I'll say that much. Driving an unfamiliar mecha suit is a hard enough process without a sweaty martial artist sitting on you. She was all taut muscle and hard elbows, jabbing me one way or another as she tried to stretch out. Some petty little part of me took solace in the knowledge that Korra probably was just as uncomfortable in the cramped confines as I was.

"Hey now," I could feel her breath wash over my ear. "Let's not get handsy, huh?" She was joking. Yes. Joking.

I may have blushed.

They had neglected to install an air conditioner. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

"My hands are busy enough as is." I leaned around to get a better view of the controls. This left my chin pressed against the curve of Korra's firm shoulder, which was a surprisingly neat fit. Unfortunately, this left me with a solid wave of hair draped over one of my eyes. "Um. Get that for me?" I asked. "Little busy."

"Uh, sure." Korra reached up with one hand and pushed my hair back so I could see again. Slightly distracting, but at least I could still see.

"Think we're far enough yet?" Korra said.

The entire submarine suddenly shook as something hit it. Something big. The glass of the porthole cracked, and tiny streams of seawater began to start spraying over the inside of the cockpit.

"I'll take that as a 'no.'" Korra said. "No biggie. I got this." Before I could tell her otherwise, Korra cut the air with her hand, and the thin sprays of seawater froze solid, plugging the leaks. Of course, the sudden change in temperature caused the windshield to crack even further, and more ominously.

"Leave it!" I said, a little quicker than I would've liked, "The cold will only make the cracks worse." I pulled up on the control levers to bring us to the surface, but nothing happened. "Lousy shoddy workmanship." I bit back the saucier engineering swears, though I wasn't sure why. "Come on!"

"Asami, we're not moving."

"I know."

"Asami, we can't say here."

"_I know_." I fought with the controls, to little avail.

"Asami. Listen to me." Korra twisted around in the cramped confines of the mechasuit's cockpit, and settled in to straddle my lap. She caught my chin between her fingers, forcing me to meet her blue-eyed gaze. "We're getting out of this," she said, certain.

"I know." I forced a smile. Sure, I was trapped in a cramped, shoddily-constructed submarine prototype, pinned beneath uncountable tons of debris- not to mention, of course, the pressure of the entire ocean pressing down on us. I figured it'd flood and drown us both before we ran out of air. Anyone with half a whit of sense would've written the whole situation off as hopeless.

Then again, I was trapped with the Avatar. That at least upgraded our survivability from 'laughable' to 'statistically improbable.'

"We're gonna have to swim for it." Korra said. She twisted around to the point where she sat in my lap, facing the spiderweb-cracked porthole. "I'll just punch through the glass, and then we'll head for the surface. We're not _that_ deep. Should be easy. Right?"

I squeezed Korra's shoulder. "Right."

"Just stay close." Korra looked back at me and grinned. "Think you can keep up?"

"I'll try."

Korra nodded, and then turned back to the porthole. "Here we go!"

She shattered the glass with a burst of wind, and then the darkness rushed in.


	4. Chapter 4

To stay any longer would have been certain death. And so, we began to swim upwards, which was only _probable_ death.

Korra slid effortlessly into the darkness, sleek as a sealbird.

I pushed off after her- but a misjudged angle slammed me into into a steel bracket on the edge of the porthole. The sudden jolt made me gasp in surprise- and my mouth was suddenly full of brackish seawater. I lost track of Korra as the world spun around me. I lost track of _everything_.

That's when I knew when I was going to die.

I clawed at the water, fighting my way towards the surface, but the cold grip of the ocean slowly choked me, dragging me downward. I couldn't see anything, I couldn't _feel_ anything, save the burning of my lungs. For all I knew, I'd already died, and I just hadn't noticed yet.

A hand reached out from the darkness and grabbed the front of my jacket. It was so dark I could barely make out the outline of Korra's face. Her cheeks bulged with held breath- I would've laughed at how ridiculous she looked, if I had the air to do it.

Korra shook me, insistent. Desperate. I grabbed at Korra's wrist and tried to shake her free- she still stood a chance, if she didn't have me dragging her down. But, weakened as my hands were, my fingers just slipped off of Korra's taut arm.

A look of panic went through Korra's eyes- and then she pulled me even closer and mashed her surprisingly soft lips against mine. She forcefully blew a mouthful of air into my lungs.

Then the world began to spin- not metaphorically, either.

Korra worked her free hand in wide circles, churning the water around us in a twisting vortex. It spun faster and faster, pushing the two of us upwards- we broke the surface a few seconds later, and I instinctively gasped, sucking as much air into my burning lungs as I could.

We sailed through the air in a wide arc. Korra switched from waterbending to airbending to slow our fall, but we still smacked into the concrete with bone-jarring force. We rolled in an awkward, wet, foul smelling jumble, until I finally came to rest on my back, staring up blankly at the night sky. My heart pounded like a racer's engine, which is an entirely valid reaction to nearly dying.

It was just the adrenaline. That's all.

"Asami? Asami!" Korra's face filled my field of vision again. She grabbed hold of my jacket and yanked me up into a sitting position. "Are you okay? Tell me you're okay. You've _got_ to be okay."

I stared into Korra's worried blue eyes, and tried to smile.

Instead, I threw up in her lap. Seawater doesn't sit well, especially after one gets cannoned through the air.

"You're okay!" Korra beamed, and pulled me into a hug (which only got _me_ dirty as well, but in retrospect, I deserved it). She must have had a far different definition of 'okay' than I did.

"Relatively speaking." I managed, and tried to wipe my mouth out as subtly as I could.

Korra squeezed me tight enough to make me worry about the state of my ribs. "Are you sure?"

"Very."

"I'm sorry- I thought I...I don't know what I was thinking."

"Neither do I." I managed a smile. "Still, it...wasn't so bad, despite the almost-drowning. Any landing you can walk away from, right? Or, uh, sinkings you can swim away from."

"I think I get the idea. Now c'mon, let's get out of here." Korra pulled me to my feet, and then scooped me up with effortless ease.

"Hey!" I squeaked in indignant protest. "You don't have to do this."

"Actually, I kind of do." Korra said- and then her airbending-boosted leap carried us up into the air. I instinctively tightened my arms around Korra, which might've been pleasant if it didn't feel like I'd left my stomach back on the ground a block or so away.

We landed not too far from my roadster, and Korra finally set me back down. "You okay to drive?" She said.

"Uh. Probably?" I managed not to throw up again. Barely.

"Good, because I don't really know how."

"Remind me to teach you sometime."

"Deal."

* * *

><p>The doorman didn't so much as bat an eye as two bruised, foul-smelling, soaked to the bone young women slipped into the elevator at an ungodly hour of the morning. I wasn't sure if this is a tribute to the professionalism of Sato Heights' staff, or if I'd just developed a reputation.<p>

"Wow," Korra said as soon as we walked through the door. "I knew you were loaded, but not like, you know, penthouse loaded."

I shrugged as casually as I could. "My office is only a few blocks away. I stay here a couple nights a week, whenever I've been working an all nighter. One of the perks of owning the building, I guess. I'll put on some tea." I headed for the kitchen. "Why don't you get cleaned up?

"You go first."

"You're the guest, you first."

"You almost _died,_ you go."

"I threw up on your shirt. You need a shower more."

"Thanks for reminding me." Korra said. "But you don't look so hot yourself."

"No, you first. Not like we can _share_." I blurted.

"Ha!" Korra said, "You're right. That stupid mecha suit was crowded enough." She turned away from me before she could see me blushing. "Asami, you're loaded, can you have your butler do a load of laundry this late?" She casually peeled herself out of her top and tossed it to the side as she headed towards the bathroom. "I mean, my clothes smell like seaweed and barf." Korra's back was turned to me, so all I could see was the statuesque curve of well-muscled shoulders.

Not that I was looking.

"Sorry about that." I said, and headed for the kitchen. Quickly. "Just leave your clothes in the basket over there, and they'll be laundered in the morning. In the meanwhile, there's a robe in the closet."

"Thanks!" Korra said from within the bathroom. I heard her fiddle with the knobs, and soon enough she was humming the Secret Tunnel Blues, loud enough so I could hear it across the penthouse.

Not that I was listening.

I busied myself with making tea in the kitchen. The routine was simple enough, comforting, a reminder of the fact I hadn't died over the course of the evening's adventures.

I had to remind myself to put out two teacups, though. I wasn't enough of a snob that I couldn't make my own tea- it's just that whenever I did, I usually only brewed up a small amount for myself; just a brief refresher between projects, or at the end of an invariably long day. I wasn't used to having company.

I poured myself a cup, and, aftter savoring the fragrant smell, drank deeply of the steaming hot tea. It warmed me from the inside out, and I felt the evening's stresses slowly begin to melt away. Of course, as my body realized nobody was trying to kill me, the aches and pains from the night's adventuring came creeping up on me. It felt like I pulled a muscle in my left leg, and I was pretty sure my shoulder would show a nasty bruise come the next morning. And on top of that, there was the network of little cuts across my knuckles, which I wouldn't have noticed if it weren't for the saltwater.

I promptly forgot all this as soon as Korra walked out of the bathroom. She wore one of my silk bathrobes, which was easily too long for her. The bottom hem trailed on the floor, and the sleeves hung nearly past Korra's fingers, reminiscent of a little girl playing dress up in her mother's clothing. That is, until the robe's ill fit revealed a swath of brown decolletage, or a length of muscled leg, which would be enough to remind anyone of Korra's real age.

Not that I was looking. Again.

"Next!" Korra shook the dampness from her hair in a gesture that was either a subtle waterbending technique or an imitation of Naga.

"Ah. Right." I said, and quickly downed the rest of my tea. "It won't take me long to clean up. In the meanwhile, make yourself at home, okay?"

"I don't know if that's even possible." Korra padded on bare feet across the penthouse. "It's just so … fancy. You do know I pretty much grew up in igloos and ancient temples, right?" She smiled, crookedly.

"Oh." I said, quiet, and poured myself another cup of tea, and then a second for Korra.  
>"I didn't realize- I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable or anything."<p>

"It's _fine_." Korra took the tea, and sipped gratefully. "The only one you should be worried about is me getting spoiled and just moving in. I mean, it's great on the island and all, but...well, there's something to be said for the...finer things." Korra flopped down onto a couch, and sprawled out languidly. "Seriously, I think Tenzin doesn't believe in upholstery."

"I...guess it's an airbender thing?"

"Must be." Korra said.

"Hey, Korra?" I broke the silence before it could become awkward. More awkward. "Before I forget, or before one of us passes out...I just wanted to apologize."

"Apologize?" Korra's eyebrows angled downwards in confusion. It was honestly kind of cute. "For what?"

"For everything. Everything tonight, at least. I mean, I just thought it'd be a nice...girl's night out? Give you the chance to just, y'know, have fun. Not as the Avatar, just...as Korra, you know?"

"Are you kidding me?" Korra leaned forward. "This was the most fun I've had in ages! Okay, sure, the bigfish wasn't that great, but I got to pick a fight, and I drank snake wine, and then we fought crime, and we got away before the cops showed up, so I don't have to explain it to Lin or Tenzin or anyone!"

"Well, when you put it that way..."

"Heck, _I_ should be the one apologizing to _you_. I just kind of dragged you along, didn't I?"

"I'm not sure if 'drag' is the right term. I mean, technically, I drove you." I smiled, and idly ran a finger around the rim of my teacup. "I'm not sure if I should put 'Avatar Chaffeur' on my resume, though."

"You're right, Naga's better at carting me around."

"Hey!"

"But at least you smell better?"

"Thanks. I think."

Korra slurped down some of her tea, and looked over at me. "Now, go clean yourself up already. You look like you got run over by a truck."

I smiled, despite the multitude of pains making themselves known throughout my body. "I think getting in a car wreck is the only bad thing that _hasn't_ happened to me yet."

"The night's still young."

"I'll stick with the shower."

"Good call."

The mirrors were still fogged from the warm water when I got into the penthouse bathroom. I didn't bother wiping the mirror to take a look at myself. I wasn't sure if I could handle it. I left my sodden clothes on the floor and staggered into the shower. I braced myself against the marble wall with one hand and fiddled with the controls with the other. I swore beneath my breath as the resulting spray of cold water stung my skin, even if it paled in comparison to the abuse I'd taken earlier in the evening.

I needed a cold shower anyway.

It's good for your circulation. Really.

With the sheen of sweat, blood, salt, and whatever other best-unknown grime rinsed from my skin, I wrapped a decadently fluffy towel around myself, and then another one around my hair. I still didn't dare look at myself in the mirror, and I still felt halfway dead, but at least I'd die _clean_.

"You know Korra, you could've told me you used all the hot water." I said as I stepped out of the bathroom.

No response.

"Korra?" I tried again.

Nothing.

Just in case, I picked up a formidably heavy statuette from a little sideboard along the wall. It wasn't a shock-glove, but the polished wood weighed heavy enough in my hand to serve as an improvised weapon. Not to mention the humiliation whatever unseen assailant would feel at getting clobbered over the head with a statuette of a turtleduck.

I crept through the penthouse, statue-club at the ready. Thankfully, no ninjas leapt out at me. Instead, I saw Korra sprawled out on my couch, snoring softly. She hadn't even finished her tea; the half empty cup steamed away on the table beside her. I couldn't blame Korra, at least- after all we'd been through, I wanted nothing so more as to curl up in my own bed myself. Or heck, my bed was all the way on the other side of the penthouse, and Korra looked more than comfortable enough on the couch...

I shook the thought out of my head and rubbed at my eyes- between the snake wine, the fights, and the near death experiences, I wasn't thinking straight. I forced myself to keep playing the good host, though, and draped a blanket over Korra, just in case.

She murmured what might've been thanks under her breath, took a handful of the soft blanket, and curled up on the couch. Such a normal, even vulnerable gesture made Korra look like...Korra. Not the Avatar, but just a tired, damp, and possibly slightly drunk young woman.

The realization was enough to remind me that I was _also _tired, damp, and possibly slightly drunk, so I finally headed back towards my bedroom.

"Hey, Asami?" Korra said, her voice heavy, tired.

I turned at the doorway to my bedroom. "Is everything okay? Are you okay?"

"M'fine." Korra tugged the blanket tighter around her. "Just, before I forgot...I just wanted to say thanks. For the fish. And everything else, I guess."

"You're welcome, Korra."

At least I fell asleep smiling.


End file.
